The weather, despite early predictions of trouble, ended up being perfectly clear and moderate for a September Friday. By 6:30ish AM we had joined forces at the parking area for the Vivian Creek Trail, and we started up the fire road, eventually dropping into Mill Creek, waving goodbye to the trail, and heading eastward upstream.
Substantial bouldering made life seem to pass in slow-motion.
Also the canyon offers some impressive waterfalls.
After much scrambling and some bypassing around falls, we reached the headwall, otherwise known as the Mill Creek Jumpoff.
This is where we really earned our merit badges, by slowly clawing our way up some terribly loose, slide-inducing terrain.
To our surprise we made it to the top of the Jumpoff without breaking anything important. Then it was merely a matter of following the use trail up the ridge to Galena.
We found what appeared to be a bear print.
And the views started opening up.
The steep ridge took some effort to hike up, but it was relatively easy compared to our prior efforts that morning. The sometimes tree-lined trail revealed itself to us without much coaxing.
And the summit came to us without any of that false-peak nonsense.
We enjoyed the victory, ate lunch, and visited West Galena.
Then it was time to head back. Descending the Jumpoff is how I hope Justin Bieber will be forced to enter Hell when he dies. (And I'm not even religious.)
The remaining journey took us back through Mill Creek, where I washed dirt and blood off the hand I had used to halt a slide down the Jumpoff.
Keith, who is a little less reckless, did not have bloody hands. But he did enjoy a cool and refreshing drink from the stream.
Keith's photos: http://s1183.photobucket.com/user/tekew ... t=2&page=1
Keith's trip report: http://ironhiker.blogspot.com/2014/09/g ... -west.html
